The UP government makes it easier to change farmland into urban projects
By Bricksnwall | 2025-12-13
Officials added that the provision was
established under Section 13 of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act 1973,
which deals with revisions to the master plan.
Ghaziabad: The UP government has given
development authorities across the state permission to turn agricultural land
into residential land for projects under the Chief Minister's Urban Expansion
Scheme. Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) officials said on Friday that
this was done to speed up projects under the scheme.
P Guruprasad, the principal secretary of the
housing and urban planning department, wrote to these authorities on December
10 and said that only the boards of these authorities would be able to approve
land use changes for projects under the scheme.
Nand Kishor Kalal, vice-chairperson of GDA,
said, "The state government used to be in charge of changing how land was
used." But today, the boards of these development bodies can authorize amendments
like these to speed up projects. The GDA's proposed Harnandipuram housing
project in Ghaziabad will benefit from this.
Officials claimed that the provision was
created under Section 13 of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act 1973,
which talks about revisions to the master plan or the zonal development plans.
GDA has suggested its ambitious 521-hectare
Harnandipuram project near Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad.
Officials say that the land needed for the
project is agricultural, thus it needs to be changed into residential land
first.
Rudresh Shukla, GDA's media coordinator,
said, "In the past, these kinds of changes needed permission from the
state government, which took a lot of time." Now, the development
authorities, like GDA in Ghaziabad, will be able to speed up the process of
changing the use of land and the work on the ground for the Harnandipuram
project.
Officials say that GDA expects to start the
first phase of the Harnandipuram project in the next five months, after buying around
100–120 hectares of land from farmers. So far, GDA has gotten permission from
farmers who own around 85 hectares of property.
Source: Hindustan Times
